Robertson Fills CD Vacancy at Heil-Brice

Robertson, 55, fills a post that has been vacant since the departure of Chris Epting more than a year ago, said Hal Brice, president and executive creative director of the 40-person agency in Newport Beach, Calif.

Robertson, who has a background as a copywriter, had recently been freelancing and consulting. Prior to that, he was executive creative director at Bates USA West, which closed in October 2002. While there, he worked on the Effie Award-winning “Driving is believing” campaign for Hyundai. He also worked for Bates in New York, where he oversaw creative for clients including Miller, Wendy’s, Estee Lauder, Foot Locker and T. Rowe Price, and had stints at McCaffrey & McCall, Young & Rubicam, Della Femina McNamee/WCRS and Scali McCabe Sloves.

At Heil-Brice, Robertson will work on all of the shop’s accounts, including Ralphs supermarkets, the Los Angeles Times, Fry’s Drug & Grocery and Snyder’s Drugstores. He joins a nine-person creative department and reports to Brice.

“I liked the size and scope of the agency,” said Robertson. “It’s not too small, it’s not gigantic, and they have a good range of accounts.”

With the addition of Robertson, Heil-Brice aims to expand into new categories, including restaurants, and work with national retail chains or mass merchants. “We are looking to continue to grow our business,” said Brice. “We’ve done a lot of great work for large, regional retailers. We’re now ready to take it to the national stage.”